Chapter 52

Yang Junshan stayed in the pomegranate forest cave for three consecutive days, until Hu Niu's weak breath turned strong and gradually stabilized. At this point, Yang Junshan knew that Hu Niu had passed the critical period of her life. Although she had not yet awakened, she was actually immersed in cultivation.

On the Western Mountain, he shot a few mountain rabbits and wild chickens, threw the prey in front of Hu Niu, and resealed the cave before descending the mountain with peace of mind.

Before Yang Junshan went down the mountain, Aunt Seven Yang Tianyan and Uncle An Xia had already taken Yang Junhao back to Qingshi Town in Chenyu County. After Yang Junshan returned home, it was obvious that his father Yang Tangan was not in a good mood.

"Your uncle reported the matter of the red-rusted raw stone to the Heaven-Shaking Sect. Now, the Heaven-Shaking Sect has issued a ban in Yu Prefecture, prohibiting all cultivators from participating in stone gambling!" Han Xiumei quietly told Yang Junshan the reason.

"Is it really necessary?" Yang Junshan was surprised. "Why would the Heaven-Shaking Sect make such a big fuss? They could have quietly collected the stones. With such a grand gesture, what secrets will the red-rusted raw stone have left?"

"Exactly!" Han Xiumei also said, "Your father said that all the raw stones in the market are being confiscated. Now, whether in the grass market or the county market, there are very few merchants selling goods. Even Li Laosan, who used to sell various raw stones to your father in the grass market, was caught by Qian Chunlai the day before yesterday. All his possessions were confiscated, and he hasn't been released yet."

Yang Junshan's expression turned cold. "Is he targeting my father?"

"Your father said he might have the intention, but he doesn't have the courage. Most likely, he's just trying to intimidate your father!"

"He only has that much ability. Why is my father unhappy? Is it just because we can't collect red-rusted raw stones anymore?"

Han Xiumei sighed. "Although our family is separate, your father still cares about the Yang clan. This time, when he informed your uncle about the red-rusted raw stone, he actually hoped that your uncle would inform the Yang clan. But your uncle, for his own future, reported it to the Heaven-Shaking Sect without a word. The Yang clan didn't get any benefits, so your father naturally feels bad."

However, at this point, Yang Junshan's mind was no longer on the red-rusted raw stone. Why was the Heaven-Shaking Sect so eager to collect the red-rusted raw stone? Logically, they should have tried to hide the news and secretly collect the stones to maximize their benefits.

After all, the Heaven-Shaking Sect, no matter how powerful, only controlled Yu Prefecture. If they had acted more secretly, they could have expanded their collection of raw stones from outside Yu Prefecture without anyone knowing. But now, by banning all raw stone transactions, they not only cut off the supply of raw stones from outside Yu Prefecture but also drew attention to the red-rusted raw stone, which would soon be known to others.

Unless the Heaven-Shaking Sect urgently needed a large amount of jade coins to save themselves, only then would they abandon the steady and slow method and adopt this desperate approach.

But why would the Heaven-Shaking Sect need so much jade coins? After all, the Heaven-Shaking Sect had dominated Yu Prefecture for countless years. Such a massive organization shouldn't be short of money!

Although Yang Junshan couldn't figure out the reason, he knew that in his previous life, the Heaven-Shaking Sect remained a formidable presence in the hearts of all cultivators in Yu Prefecture until the very end. No one would have thought that such a giant would suddenly collapse!

Perhaps in places no one could see, the Heaven-Shaking Sect had already been rotting. This incident with the red-rusted raw stone might have just touched a sore spot, causing such a strong reaction from the Heaven-Shaking Sect.

Yang Junshan hurriedly walked to the backyard, where Su Baozhang was training with Yang Junping and others in the Bull Fist. Seeing Yang Junshan return, Su Baozhang smiled and said, "Brother Junshan, how is Hu Niu's injury? Why didn't you bring her back?"

Yang Junshan had something on his mind and was about to find Yang Tangan. He simply said, "She is still recovering."

After a moment's thought, Yang Junshan stopped and beckoned to Yang Junping, saying, "Second Brother, I asked you to catch grasshoppers and locusts in the fields these days. Did you go?"

Yang Junping's face showed reluctance. "That's just a game for kids. I'm almost eleven, and I still need to go catch grasshoppers in the fields?"

Seeing Yang Junshan's face turn serious, Yang Junping quickly said, "Little Sister has been catching grasshoppers these days, especially when Thirteenth Brother was here. They were the ones who caught the most locusts!"

Yang Junshan then found Little Sister. With Yang Junhao, who was about her age, leaving and Hu Niu being seriously injured, Yang Junping had been influenced by his older brother to focus on cultivation, leaving Yang Junxin without playmates and quite unhappy.

Hearing her older brother ask about catching locusts, Yang Junxin, though puzzled, said, "There are a lot of grasshoppers and locusts in the fields. The uncles and uncles who farm said that this year's weather is good, so there are more grasshoppers in the fields."

"How big were the largest locusts you caught these days?"

Yang Junxin thought for a moment and gestured with her hands, saying, "This big!"

Seeing Little Sister's gesture, which indicated a locust almost as big as a cat, Yang Junshan scratched her nose and said, half-laughing and half-crying, "A locust that big didn't eat you!"

Seeing Yang Junshan constantly asking about the number and size of locusts, Su Baozhang laughed and asked, "Brother Junshan, why are you asking about this? Is there going to be a locust disaster this year?"

Yang Junshan thought for a moment and said, "Just to be safe. I saw a lot of locusts and grasshoppers flying around in the back of the Western Mountain these days. I don't know about other places, but I'm worried there might be a locust disaster."

Seeing Yang Junshan's serious expression, Su Baozhang's face also turned serious. "Although we now have four martial realm cultivators in the village, they can work together to resist a large-scale locust disaster, but there are always times when they can't cover everything. Every time a locust disaster comes, there are always some losses. I think you should inform the village chief first. It's always better to be prepared."

Yang Junshan nodded and walked towards Yang Tangan's room. If it were just an ordinary locust disaster, Yang Junshan wouldn't be too worried. When a massive swarm of locusts comes, they are usually eliminated by the cultivators in the village before they even reach the fields, and any losses are minimal.

However, the key issue was that the locust disaster in Yang Junshan's previous life was not ordinary. The locusts were almost twice the size of ordinary locusts. While ordinary locusts are about one to two inches long, the locusts in that disaster were each about half a palm in size.

Facing the combined efforts of the spirit-farming cultivators in Tuqiu Village, the number of locusts killed was limited. The remaining locusts broke through the defenses and rushed into the spirit fields, devouring the spirit grains.

Despite the efforts of Yang Tangan, the village chief, to organize the cultivators to eliminate the locusts and send people to harvest the spirit grains, by the time the disaster was controlled, only about one-third of the original spirit grains were salvaged, with the rest being eaten by the locusts.

This locust disaster not only affected Huangtu Town but also the entire Mengyu County. In addition to Mengyu County, three of the other five counties in Yu Prefecture also suffered from this giant locust disaster. After the disaster, the price of spirit grains in the entire Yu Prefecture, controlled by the Heaven-Shaking Sect, doubled.

Indeed, when Yang Junshan mentioned the locust disaster, Yang Tangan didn't take it seriously. However, Yang Junshan couldn't reveal that this disaster was different from the usual ones. He could only say that he had found a few locusts that were almost twice the size of ordinary locusts, which didn't look like ordinary locusts but more like small fierce beasts, with great strength, fast flight speed, and extremely hard mandibles that could even break small branches.

This indeed caught Yang Tangan's attention. When Yang Tangan asked where the bodies of these locusts were, Yang Junshan, based on his previous life's memory, said that he had been in the mountains with Hu Niu and had roasted and eaten the locusts after catching them.

No matter what, Yang Junshan's fabricated story did catch Yang Tangan's attention. Yang Tangan thought for a moment and said, "This year's weather and climate do seem conducive to a locust disaster. However, we need to find a few live or dead specimens of these giant locusts. Otherwise, even if I want to gather the whole village to resist the disaster, no one will take it seriously."

Yang Junshan knew that he could only remind his father to this extent. He nodded and then said with a mischievous smile, "I'll go look for them, but, Father, shouldn't you give me the jade coins from the red-rusted raw stone?"

Yang Tangan's face turned serious. "What do you need the jade coins for?"

Yang Junshan was delighted to hear this. From his father's tone, he could tell that his father had made a good harvest. He quickly complained, "Since we returned from Baique Mountain, I don't even have a single stone coin. Now that my cultivation has broken through to the third level, I need to learn to make talismans and engrave talismanic weapons, and I need to prepare some cultivation items for myself. I can't keep using a three-stone bow to shoot the buttocks of martial realm cultivators, can I?"

Yang Tangan grunted. "That's true. Here, take these jade coins."

Yang Junshan eagerly grabbed the bag Yang Tangan threw and weighed it in his hand. His face immediately fell. "Father, this isn't right. There are only ten jade coins. That's not fair. We agreed that one-tenth of the jade coins from the red-rusted raw stone would be mine. You can't have only gotten one hundred jade coins, can you?"

"Ten is still too few?" Yang Tangan's eyes widened, and he scolded, "Do you see any child with so many jade coins? All the jade coins from this time were used for your mother to break through to the martial realm. If you want more, ask your mother!"

Yang Junshan was immediately deflated. Just as he was about to leave his father's room, he was called back. Looking up, he saw a stone thrown from Yang Tangan's hand.

Yang Junshan quickly caught it and found it to be a red-rusted raw stone about the size of a half-fist. Yang Tangan said, "This is a reward from your Uncle Seven. How many jade coins you can get from it depends on your luck."

---

This chapter is late. I went out tonight and wasted a lot of time.

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